Collapsible burner



Sept. 25, 1956 T; H. JOHNS COLLAPSIBLE BURNER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1952 Sept. 25, 1956 r. H. JOHNS COLLAPSIBLE BURNER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19, 1952 mummy"; 7i/0M49 H JOHN5,

United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE BURNER Thomas H. Johns, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application June 19, 1952, Serial No. 294,499

1 Claim. (Cl. 158--99) The present invention relates generally to burner apparatus used for drying the interiors of hollow vessels and more particularly to a collapsible burner apparatus especially suitable for applying heat to dry out the interior of a hollow vessel having a constricted opening.

The invention finds practical application in use for drying out newly applied masonry linings of mixer ladles used for transporting molten metal, and in that application I shall, in an exemplary way, describe it.

The ladle used for transporting molten iron from a blast furnace to the open hearth department of a steel mill is commonly known in the art as a mixer or submarine type ladle and consists principally of a cylindrical steel plate shell with conical ends, the whole being lined with various typesof brick or mica-schist stone. The lined shell, which may vary in size from 100 to 250 tons capacity, is provided with trunnions at its conical ends. Each trunnion is supported on a railway type car truck in such a manner as will allow the shell to be rotated through 180 degrees for the purpose of emptying the ladle through a spout opening in the center of its top surface.

The ladle is re-lined periodically and after re-lining must be thoroughly dried out before being put into service. This drying out process, heretofore, was done usually by inserting one or more single pipe burner lances of the conventional type through the spout opening in the top of the ladle for positioning in the interior thereof; The lances used had a fiame opening only at the end of the pipe which resulted in time consuming non-uniform drying. Prior to my invention, use of the single pipe lance was necessary because of the constricted opening of the spout since it could not accommodate burner apparatus of sufficient size to uniformly dry out the entire interior of the ladle at one time.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide a burner apparatus which may be collapsed to a compact shape for insertion through the constricted opening of a hollow vessel and then may be opened up inside the vessel for the purpose of applying heat uniformly to the surface thereof.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a collapsible burner apparatus of the character described above which automatically reduces to appropriate size for passage through the constricted opening as it is withdrawn from the vessel after the drying thereof has been accomplished.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view showing the apparatus of my invention installed for use in drying out a molten metal mixer ladle;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line IIII of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the burner apparatus of my invention in collapsed form preparatory to insertion through the constricted opening of a mixer ladle; and

2,764,232 Patented Sept. 25, 1956 "ice Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 showing the apparatus in the collapsed form assumed when it is withdrawn from the mixer ladle.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates an elongated conduit having a gas supply line 4 connected at its upper end and a T-fitting 6 threaded on its lower end. Arm sections 8 and 10, each including a pair of pipes 12 and 14, are connected to the branches 16 and 18 respectively of the T-fitting 6 by means of swivel elbow connections 20. The pipes 12 and 14 in each of the arm sections are connected together by means of similar swivel elbow connections 22. The swivel connections 20 and 22 permit movement of the arms 8 and 10 in planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the conduit from a position extending longitudinally of the conduit, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, to a position normal to the conduit as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Each of the arm sections 8 and 10 is provided with a series of spaced burner openings 24 along the lengths thereof and a sealed outer end 26. A pair of legs 28 are pivotally attached to each of the pipes 12 and 14 intermediate the ends thereof for the purpose of supporting the apparatus in use. An eye 30 may be attached to the top of the conduit 2 to facilitate handling of the apparatus.

The swivel elbow connections permit the pipes 12 and 14 to be arranged in position parallel to the conduit in a compact manner as shown in Figure 3, with the pivotally attached legs 28 lying parallel to the pipes so that the entire unit may be easily inserted through the constricted spout opening X of a mixer ladle Y.

In operation, after the ladle Y has been lined with masonry, the burner apparatus of my invention is arranged in the compact unit shown in Figure 3 and inserted through the opening X by means of a crane. After the apparatus is inserted through the opening X, the conduit 2 remains in vertical position with a portion thereof projecting outwardly from the opening. A workman within the ladle Y straightens out the arm sections 8 and 10 to horizontal position along the longitudinal center line of the shell, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The lengths of the legs 28 are such that they will support the pipes 12 and 14 in this position. After the burner has been properly positioned, the workman comes out of the ladle and gas is passed through the conduit to the arm sections 8 and 10 and ignited at the burner openings 24. The igniting of the gas may be done by any suitable means desired such as a torch inserted from the outside of the ladle, or by placing burning waste on the bottom of the ladle before the gas is turned on. The ignited gas emitted from the holes 24 dries the entire surface of the interior lining evenly in a relatively short time.

After the masonry has been thoroughly dried, the gas is turned off, and a crane hook is inserted in the eye 30 to lift the conduit vertically through the restricted opening X. As the conduit is raised, the pipes 12 and 14 drop to vertical position longitudinally of the conduit, as shown in Figure 4, by virtue of the swivel connections 20 and 22 as the apparatus is withdrawn through the opening X.

Although I have shown the arm sections 8 and 10 made up of two pipes, it will be understood that this number may be varied as desired. For some purposes it may be preferable to provide a burner opening at the ends of the arm sections instead of along the lengths thereof. Where it is desired to apply heat in only one direction,only one arm section may be attached to the conduit.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

Apparatus for applying heat to the interior of a 1 IS hollow vessel haying a constricted opening comprising a conduit having "a fluid fuel suppl 'connection at one end, a T-fitting at the other end of said conduit, a plurality of pipes having at least one burner opening therein connected to each branch of sa'id T-fitting, a swivel connection between each plurality of pipes and said T-fitting, a swivel connection betweenthe pipes in each of said pluralities, said swivel connections permitting each ofthe plurality of pipes to be 'inoved in planes parallel tothe longitudinal axis of said conduit from a position extending longitudinally of said conduit to a position normal to said conduit, and a pair of legs attached to each of said pipes intermediate the ends thereof for supporting said pipes References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

